Newton - North Delta

Newton-North Delta runs from the Fraser River in the northwest to Mud Bay/Serpentine River in the south. It contains the part of Delta lying east of Annieville Channel, Annacis Island, and highways 91 and 99, as well as part of Surrey encompassed by 88th Avenue, 128th Street, 80th Avenue, King George Highway and the Serpentine River.

Immigrants make up 43 per cent of the riding's residents. Nearly 38 per cent identify themselves as Indian – the highest such percentage of any riding in Canada. English is the mother tongue of 47 per cent of the population, and Punjabi of 30 per cent.

Manufacturing and the service sector are the main employers here. The 2006 census shows an average family income of $81,573 and an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent.

The riding was formed in the 2004 redistribution by combining large sections of Delta South-Richmond and Surrey Central.

Population: 118,649 (2006 census; increase of 6.8% since 2001)

Political History

The 2006 race was a nail-biter, with Liberal Sukh Daliwal edging out New Democrat Nancy Clegg by 700 votes. Conservative Phil Eidsvik was a close third.

Surrey Central incumbent Gurmant Grewal won here for the Conservatives in 2004, defeating Dhaliwal by a scant 520 votes. Grewal's wife, Nina Grewal, was elected in Fleetwood-Port Kells, making them the first married couple to serve together in the House of Commons.

In recent years, both ridings that contributed to the riding of Newton-North Delta were Reform/Canadian Alliance territory. In 2000, Surrey Central re-elected Grewal by more than 10,000 votes over Liberal challenger Peter Wakentin. That same year, in Delta-South Richmond, John Cummins was handed a third term over Liberal Jim Doswell. The difference was 15,024 ballots. Before Cummins and Grewal, this area tended to favour Tories.

• 2004 - CON
• 2006 - LIB